Is going gluten-free a healthy choice?
Gluten-free is all the rage, apparently. Celebrities and health nuts alike have gone gluten-free, the supermarket shelves are packed with gluten-free options, your local pizza restaurant has added a gluten-free crust to its menu and GF doesn’t just mean “girlfriend” any more.
In Australia, sales of gluten-free products are predicted to reach $94 million by 2015. So gluten must be evil, right? Wrong. Let us help separate the trend from the truth…
What is gluten?
Gluten is a protein composite found in foods made from wheat and some other grains including barley, rye and possibly oats. Most of us unknowingly love it, because gluten makes pizza dough stretchy, gives bread its spongy texture, and is used to thicken sauces and soups.
Who can’t eat gluten?
If you’re one the 250,000 Australians who have coeliac disease (about 1 in 100 people), an autoimmune disorder, you probably know about it.
People with coeliac disease react badly to gluten, which damages their small intestine, and should follow a gluten-free diet.
In recent years, evidence has come to light that has suggested some people may experience coeliac-like symptoms when they eat gluten, which has been termed ‘gluten sensitivity’. But there are still far more people shunning gluten than have actually experienced any problems with it. So…
Should you give it up?
If you have been diagnosed with coeliac disease, yes. If you suspect you might have gluten sensitivity, talk to your GP about eliminating it for a period of time and seeing if it helps, or keeping a food diary to identify any patterns.
If not, there is no proven benefit to going gluten-free. In fact, the reason why people tend to lose weight when they cut out gluten is simply because they have fewer foods to choose from, and are eating less calories overall. You can eat less bread and more fresh fruit and vegetables without going to the trouble of cutting out gluten! It’s in everything from sauces to soups, salad dressings and seasonings, so cutting it out entirely is not for the faint-hearted.
It can also backfire. Without gluten to bind food together, food manufacturers often use more fat and sugar to make the product more palatable. Furthermore, research suggests that people who cut out gluten may be more likely to be deficient in iron, B vitamins and fibre.
The worst mistake you can make- and we’re sure people do- is to turn your back on healthy food like soups and wholemeal breads for fear that the gluten in them is making you fat- in favour of a gluten-free brownie! It might look and sound similar, but gluten-free is not the same as guilt-free. Unfortunately.
For more information on the symptoms of coeliac disease, see www.coeliac.org.au/symptoms